McCain still won't get my vote

... even though he apparently speaks for me:

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) hasn't spent much time in the Capitol this year as he seeks the GOP presidential nomination. But one of his rare appearances this week provided a pretty salty exchange with a fellow Republican.

During a meeting Thursday on immigration legislation, McCain and Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) got into a shouting match when Cornyn started voicing concerns about the number of judicial appeals that illegal immigrants could receive, according to multiple sources -- both Democrats and Republicans -- who heard firsthand accounts of the exchange from lawmakers who were in the room.

At a bipartisan gathering in an ornate meeting room just off the Senate floor, McCain complained that Cornyn was raising petty objections to a compromise plan being worked out between Senate Republicans and Democrats and the White House. He used a curse word associated with chickens and accused Cornyn of raising the issue just to torpedo a deal.

Things got really heated when Cornyn accused McCain of being too busy campaigning for president to take part in the negotiations, which have gone on for months behind closed doors. "Wait a second here," Cornyn said to McCain. "I've been sitting in here for all of these negotiations and you just parachute in here on the last day. You're out of line."

McCain, a former Navy pilot, then used language more accustomed to sailors (not to mention the current vice president, who made news a few years back after a verbal encounter with Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont).

"[Expletive] you! I know more about this than anyone else in the room," shouted McCain at Cornyn. McCain helped craft a bill in 2006 that passed the Senate but couldn't be compromised with a House bill that was much tougher on illegal immigrants.

Me to you too, Senator Box Turtle. With all the love in the world.

Ashcroft as Brando, Bush as Sollozzo

The story James Comey recounted is scary enough as it is, but this, via Prairie Weather, is just too much:

So the next evening, the White House -- probably the President himself, by Comey's account -- calls Mrs. Ashcroft, and implores her to allow Alberto Gonzales and Andy Card to come to GW Hospital to persuade John Ashcroft, in his weakened and drug-induced post-operative state, to sign off on the program, i.e., to overrule Comey even though Comey is the Acting AG. Comey gets wind of the impending meeting at the hospital, and he rushes to a waiting vehicle to get to the hospital -- using emergency equipment! -- before the White House Chief of Staff and Counsel get there. Comey (literally) runs up the hospital stairs to Ashcroft's room. While Comey is waiting for the two high-ranking White House officials to arrive, he calls the Director of the FBI for support, and then the FBI Director speaks to the AG's security detail and -- this is the best part -- "instructed the FBI agents present not to allow me [Comey] to be removed from the room under any circumstances"!

Yes, if you think this sounds familiar, it is -- it eerily resembles the scene in which Michael Corleone "protects" his father at the hospital in The Godfather. With Jack Goldsmith as Enzo the Baker, and Alberto Gonzales as McCluskey the crooked cop. The President, of course, is Sollozzo. Comey would be Michael, except that he's a good 14 inches taller than Al Pacino . . . . Oh, and then there's the bit about how Comey refuses to meet with Andy Card -- the President's Chief of Staff! -- at the White House without an unbiased third party witness (SG Ted Olson -- aka Tom Hagen/Robert Duvall).

And this is how the law is settled these days in the executive branch of the greatest democracy in the world.

P.S. It's probably safe to say this is the first time in history that anyone has ever drawn a parallel between John Ashcroft and Marlon Brando.

Is it too much to hope that McCluskey and Sollozzo get whacked in an Italian restaurant again?

Texas Lege shenanigans continue

The House may throw out the Speaker -- or not, and the Senate will probably kill democracy at the ballot box, before the 80th ends but almost certainly in a special to be named later.

Craddick's woes:

Burka, Kuffner, Leibowitz, Eye on Williamson. And The Observer.

Dewhurst's folly:

BOR, NTL, STC, and TK.

And many others. The MSM blogs -- Postcards and TP -- have been good on the topics as well.

I am never embarrassed to be a Texan, except when the Legislature is in session.

Hillary outpolls "Other" but trails "No Freakin' Clue"

Who is currently your favorite 2008 candidate?

	No Freakin' Clue
7%	1247 votes
	Other
6%	1035 votes
	Hillary Clinton
6%	1051 votes
	Barack Obama
24%	4223 votes
	John Edwards
39%	6878 votes
	Bill Richardson
8%	1484 votes
	Dennis Kucinich
2%	510 votes
	Joe Biden
0%	134 votes
	Chris Dodd
0%	135 votes
	Mike Gravel
3%	531 votes

Similar results at MyDD, though Richardson and Obama trade places for second and third.

John Edwards	1,992	(48.4%)
Bill Richardson	1,086	(26.4%)
Barack Obama	686	(16.7%)
Other	105	(2.6%)
Hillary Clinton	92	(2.2%)
Mike Gravel	48	(1.2%)
Chris Dodd	37	(0.9%)
Unsure	28	(0.7%)
Dennis Kucinich	23	(0.6%)
Joe Biden	17	(0.4%)

In all of the terrestrial polling -- which matters more than the results shown above -- Hillary is the leader, and is strengthening her lead. Sheila J-L just announced her endorsement, which I consider significant (in that she called it so early and not for Obama).

So while the Repubs continue to flail and flog each other, the offline Democrats appear to be coalescing around their front-runner.

This is a depressing and disconcerting prospect.

I will find it difficult to impossible to cast a vote for Hillary Clinton for president, as much as I respect and admire her (and believe she would be an excellent commander-in-chief). I find the Senator from New York too conservative for my taste, as I did her husband, and I further believe she is toxic to our down-ballot races in Texas, which would probably prevent Democratic candidates from unseating undesirables like John Cornyn, John Culberson, and many others.

She wouldn't campaign here except to fly in and out of Austin and probably someone's home in River Oaks, leaving with several million dollars to spend anywhere but Texas.

Hillary Clinton at the top of the ticket sets Texas Democrats back another generation. I cannot support her candidacy -- even if she is the nominee -- on that basis alone.

GOP Debate: Jack Bauer '08

A summary of others' live-blogging:

MCCAIN: Good lord, how often is he going to tell that drunken sailor joke?

GILMORE: Oooh, sneaky. In translation: "To hear which other candidates I'm talking smack about, you're going to have to visit my website."

We have entered the 'run to the right' part of the evening - any evidence of a liberal position will be posed as an accusation to be refuted.

GIULIANI: If he thinks he's going to get anywhere by talking about reducing abortion, his candidacy should be disqualified on account of he's delusional.

ROMNEY: "Being governor of Massachusetts proves that I am a true conservative because I've had to stand up to the horrible liberals there." Never mind that he only stood up after running and winning as a liberal.

QUESTIONS: Abortion abortion stem cells.

THOMPSON: Deep in the weeds of stem cells. Conclusion: There are already enough stem cell lines for promising research.

GIULIANI: "Legal abortion is about keeping the government out of people's lives so it's really conservative." Again, good luck with that.

HUCKABEE: At least Giuliani is honest about his position (slam at Romney?), but I'm better because "I value life" and that's "what separates us from the Islamic jihadist."

BROWNBACK: No abortions even for rape victims.

ROMNEY: My change of position on abortion is sincere. I swear. Really. Honest.

TANCREDO: He's seeing a lot of conversions among other candidates. His rehearsed laugh line of the night: Supports conversions on the road to Damascus, not on the road to Des Moines.

MCCAIN: We have to be bipartisan on immigration. Because of the planned Fort Dix attack.

ROMNEY: McCain is soft on immigration. "If you're here illegally, you should not have a special pathway" to become a permanent resident. Says "special pathway" about three more times. Then hits McCain on campaign finance reform.

MCCAIN: At least I'm consistent on campaign finance reform rather than changing position according to what office I'm running for. Because it's not like his positions have shifted at all since, oh, say, 2000. (Jerry Falwell, anyone?)

PAUL: When we go to war in haste, the wars don't end. (Is that like marry in haste, repent at leisure?) Keeps invoking Ronald Reagan to support his anti-Iraq war stance. Are they going to ask him about anything but Iraq?

GIULIANI: 9/11 gives me my moral authority and I will hammer that. Demands that Paul take back saying that US foreign policy had something to do with 9/11.

PAUL: "They don't attack us because we're rich and we're free, they attack us because we're over there."

Major crosstalk.

MCCAIN: Asked about Confederate flag. "Almost all parties involved" believe it's a good compromise to have it not flying on the state capitol but somewhere else on the grounds. And now can we please please please stop talking about this?

TANCREDO: "For every single scientist" who says people are responsible for global warming, there's another who says it's not. Oy.

And following up on the global warming question, he goes back to... Ron Paul's views on 9/11. Now we come to the "don't you just love torture?" segment.

McCAIN: No. (No applause)

RUDY: Fuckin 'a! Of course! (Much applause)

MITT: Hmm. Not so much on the torture -- but how 'bout this? Double the size of Guantanamo!! (Even more applause!)

BROWNBACK: Not going to involve UN in preemptive intervention if US lives are involved. (Not gonna involve UN in reproductive rights questions, either, one would presume.)

McCAIN: You know, it's these chickenhawk dipshits who support torture. Those of us who served see the big picture. (Tepid applause)

(I forgot that Gilmore was still running.)

GILMORE: I'll go to the UN -- and tell them what they're gonna let us do.

PAUL: In case of a terrorist attack... cut taxes! And spending! Because Keynes was a punk.

TANCREDO!!! GIVE ME JACK BAUER! Ethics and law "go out the window" when terrorism strikes.

GILMORE: Sure, there aren't any minorities in the race, but there will be some day. Don't sweat it.

MITT: Sure, I'm willing to change positions that might anger the Republican base -- for example, I like NCLB, because it fights teachers unions!

HUNTER: China. US on trade. Chinese military. Dissidents.

And that's it. Tom Tancredo is without a doubt the most lunatic fringe player I've ever seen run for president whose party actually let him on stage for a debate.

Of course you could go read Big Jolly post 60 times that somebody kicked somebody's ass, or this moron's view that Ron Paul represents the Democrat (sic) position. But it wouldn't be as hilarious, because they aren't kidding.

Update: Beldar Conehead and The Pink Lady also have pretty funny takes, again from opposite ends of the spectrum.